At about this time in 1788, Alexander Hamilton (a.k.a. Publius) writes Federalist Paper No. 81. His essay would later appear in a bound volume with other Federalist essays (see below). This paper honestly might leave you rolling your eyes a bit at the current state of affairs. Hamilton is still discussing the judiciary and concerns about the Supreme Court. The Constitution’s opponents were worried that the Court would end up being superior to the legislature. Hamilton dismiss

On this day in 1924, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Perhaps no one expected Foster J. Sayers to achieve all that he did? His childhood had been a rough one, bouncing from foster home to foster home. “[H]e got shipped from one farm to another in the Blanchard area,” his son Foster Jr. later told the Centre Daily Times. “He got treated poorly. He would have to do the milking while the family’s sons were having breakfast. . . . Final

At about this time in 1788, Alexander Hamilton (a.k.a. Publius) writes Federalist Paper No. 80. His essay would later appear in a bound volume with other Federalist essays (see below). This paper continues Hamilton’s examination of the judiciary. Hamilton begins by noting that there “ought always to be a constitutional method of giving efficacy to constitutional provisions.” What good does it do to impose constitutional restrictions if you have no “constitutional mode of enfo

On this day in 1778, American naval captain John Paul Jones captures HMS Drake—and he does it in British waters. He would soon return to a French port with the captured vessel and American colors flying above inverted British ones. The capture was welcome news, to say the least. Jones had been having a generally difficult time. He was then commanding the Continental Navy ship Ranger with the stated mission of “distressing the Enemies of the United States by Sea, or otherwis

On this day in 1945, several soldiers receive the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg, Germany. “It was the same day we cleared the city of the last German resistance,” recipient John J. Tominac observed. “I believe the ceremony gave a psychological lift to our troops . . . .” Tominac was awarded the Medal after an action that reads like a Hollywood movie script! Would you believe he even rode atop a burning tank, leaping off just as it exploded? Ama

On this day in 1864, the stage is set for a change in American coinage. The country was then in the midst of the Civil War. Times were difficult, and some had been calling for a way to boost morale. Do you know the story of the 1864 two-cent coin? It was the first time that “In God We Trust” appeared on American money. The groundwork had been laid much earlier, in 1861. The Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, was then receiving appeals to recognize God on coins. Most fam

On this day in 1836, Texans win the Battle of San Jacinto. The battle was won in only 18 minutes! The decisive victory would ultimately ensure independence for the Republic of Texas. It also avenged the blood that had been shed at the Alamo and at Goliad. Surrender of Santa Anna , by William Henry Huddle The Texans (then “Texians”) had accomplished their goal with a swiftness that would surely make George Washington’s Continental Army a bit jealous. Texas declared its indepe

On this day in 1947, a boy is born in Flushing, New York. George Lang would go on to become a soldier and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He didn’t think his bravery in Vietnam was anything out of the ordinary, though. “Hey, you do what you have to do,” he shrugged. “You react automatically when the bad guys are firing at your buddies.” SP4 Lang’s heroism came early in 1969 as he served with the 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. By then, he’d been in Vietnam for s

On this day in 1944, a United States Army Air Forces pilot participates in a mission over the skies of France—but Elmer Gedeon wasn’t just any pilot. He was also a professional baseball player who’d left his career behind to fight for his country. Gedeon would become one of only two Major League baseball players to make the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. The young athlete was nothing if not talented. He played football and baseball in college. He even ran track a

At about this time in 1788, Alexander Hamilton (a.k.a. Publius) writes Federalist Paper No. 79. His essay would later appear in a bound volume with other Federalist essays (see below). This paper examines the judiciary created by the Constitution. What constitutional provisions will safeguard the independence of judges? In the prior paper, Hamilton defended life tenure for judges because it contributes to their independence. This paper defends a “fixed provision for their sup

On this day in 1789, George Washington leaves Mount Vernon. He is headed to New York, where he would be inaugurated as the nation’s first President. He was 57 years old. Washington’s diary entry for April 16 was simple: “I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity; and with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express, set out for New York . . . .” Yet again, Washington would give up the comforts of his

On this day in 1865, Abraham Lincoln passes away after a shocking attack the night before. You know many details of what happened to Lincoln, but did you know that John Wilkes Booth had co-conspirators who were trying to simultaneously target other members of Lincoln’s administration? One of the men in their sights was the Secretary of State, William Henry Seward. Seward was already having trouble. Several days earlier, he’d been involved in a horrible carriage accident.

On this day in 1942, the United States Navy records its first sinking of a German U-boat during World War II. USS Roper wasn’t the biggest or the newest of our ships. To the contrary, she was a destroyer originally commissioned in 1919. Naturally, she got the job done anyway. U-boats were then a constant threat, and Roper was among those patrolling the waters along America’s eastern coast. Her crew had not yet spotted any German submarines. “Have sighted lots of wrecke

On this day in 1945, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Perhaps no one expected Dexter Kerstetter to step up as he did? For starters, he was “too old” to be joining the Army. “He joined the Army when he was 37 years old and they called him ‘pops,’” his daughter explained. Kerstetter began as a cook’s helper in the mess hall, but then, as he would say, he “got tired of being a cook.” He wanted to be in the fight. So, when his company lan

At about this time in 1788, Alexander Hamilton (a.k.a. Publius) writes Federalist Paper No. 78. His essay would appear in a bound volume with other Federalist essays. The paper examines the judiciary created by the Constitution. Hamilton spends the bulk of his time discussing the tenure of judges as it relates to the nature of what they do. But, honestly, much of what Hamilton says in this paper probably strikes the modern reader as odd, given how powerful our activist courts

On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 prepares for its trip into space. Just two days into its mission, the spacecraft would unfortunately be struck by catastrophe. An oxygen tank would explode, leaving three astronauts in a crippled spaceship about 200,000 miles from Earth. How would they survive? For days, the country waited in suspense. Congress passed resolutions asking Americans to pray. The flight began uneventfully enough. Apollo 13 had run into a few pre-flight hiccups,

On this day in 1924, a future U.S. Air Force test pilot is born. Captain Milburn “Mel” Apt is best known for being the first to fly faster than Mach 3. Sadly, his Bell X-2 supersonic aircraft went into a spin mere seconds later. The intrepid pilot was unable to eject in time. “These are powerful rocket planes,” Air Force Magazine described, “each icebox white, small, and more powerful than any engine man has ever built. They are rapier-nosed guided missiles, guided by men who

On this day in 1782, a small American sloop faces off against HMS General Monk . The sloop’s captain was just 22 years old. He was outgunned and outmanned. Naturally, he outwitted—then defeated—the British in a mere 30 minutes. “This action has been justly deemed one of the most brilliant that ever occurred under the American flag,” historian James Fenimore Cooper concludes. “It was fought in the presence of a vastly superior force . . . [the ship taken was] superior to h

On this day in 2021, a hero passes away. Charles H. Coolidge had endured a four-day ordeal during World War II. It earned him the Medal of Honor, although he then barely even knew what the Medal was! He’d heard of it only because Sergeant Alvin York had grown up about 100 miles away from his hometown in Tennessee. Coolidge’s heroism came as Allied forces worked their way across France late in the war. On October 24, 1944, he was with his platoon of machine-gunners. They’d b

On this day in 1939, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp is launched. She is perhaps best known for her stunning end—and the inspired rescue that followed. Nearly 2,000 sailors and aviators were pulled from the water as she went down nearby. Wasp was with about a dozen other warships on September 15, 1942. She was escorting transports for the Seventh Marine Regiment, then headed to Guadalcanal. She’d been at general quarters all day even as her planes flew antisubmarine patrol mi